Sugar Rush

There’s no place like the ready-to-eat cereal aisle for competing promotions.

PROMO swung through a Stop & Shop in Norwalk, CT, in early December and counted up a total of 43 on-pack promotions. Logging all those campaigns kept our reporter lingering in the aisle for quite some time — long enough to be accosted by three store employees inquiring about his notepad and purpose.

Fortunately, he was able to sweet-talk his way out of a bum’s rush to the parking lot. Here’s a rundown of what he found, sorted by company:

General Mills, Minneapolis, not only runs promotions on just about every brand, but generally runs a unique effort for each one — along with a plug for its Box Tops for Education program on all.

• Wheaties boasted “Racing Legends” on its exterior in a NASCAR tie-in.
• Kix continued its successful partnership with Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford the Big Red Dog.
• Count Chocula delivered an in-pack “Spooky Music and Sounds” CD. (Left over from Halloween, perhaps?)
• Cocoa Puffs touted the “great chocolately taste of Hershey’s cocoa.”
• Honey Nut Cheerios had two offerings: an essay contest dangling vacation prizes on 14-oz. boxes and scooter toys inside 1.4-pound boxes.
• Cheerios diversified its offers as well, with 15-oz. boxes heralding a contest to “win your photo” on a box and 1.4-pound packages carrying an AOL 7.0 disk with game.
• Apple Cinnamon Cheerios had an in-pack coupon for $1 off a one-pound purchase of Washington State Apples.
• Nesquick boasted a free sample of the namesake Nestlé drink powder.
• Golden Grahams had an SLO for a die-cast race car.
• Total ran an instant-win game serving trips to the La Costa Resort and Spa.
• Lucky Charms offered free premiums in random boxes through the Toys “R” Us Million Dollar Toy Giveaway.

Kellogg USA, Battle Creek, MI, wasn’t as active as Mills. It also had more multi-brand campaigns, including its long-term American Airlines Advantage miles program, which was tagged on seven different SKUS.

• Honey Frosted MiniWheats featured an in-pack racing car.
• Raisin Bran had an SLO for a country music CD.
• Corn Flakes featured images from Walt Disney Co.’s upcoming Cinderella DVD release.
• Smart Start heralded ties to the Susan G. Komen Foundation Race for the Cure.

Several products were tied to Walt Disney Co.’s Monsters, Inc.: Fruit Loops, Frosted Flakes and Apple Jacks (the last featuring unique product shapes) were united through an instant-win game. (The audio-enhanced winning boxes scream when opened.)

• Frosted Flakes’ larger SKU was the first in the Kellogg’s stable to break a Winter Olympics tie-in with in-pack “gold medals” that can be redeemed for free Olympic merchandise.

• Special K served a mail-in offer for a free workout video.

  Northfield, IL-based Kraft Foods’ Post division had one multi-brand effort, an in-pack coupon good for $5 off a kids’ movie ticket or concession stand snacks running on Oreo O’s, Cocoa Pebbles, and Frosted Shredded Wheat.

• Honey Comb hosted an instant-win game giving away snowboards and sporting goods gift certificates.

• Cinnaclusters had in-pack Baseball Hall of Fame cards and a sweeps proffering baseball-themed trips.

  Chicago-based Quaker Oats chipped in with two instant-win games:

• Life hosted one in conjunction with Discovery Channel’s Walking with Prehistoric Beasts special.

• Cap’n Crunch’s served Tiger Electronics toys and coupons.

Total breakdown: 11 games, contests, or sweeps, nine free premiums, eight continuity programs, five licensed properties, four coupons, three SLOs, two charity tie-ins, and one product sample.

Some final notes:

There wasn’t a single piece of P-O-P in the aisle.

The aisle’s top shelf — which resides high above the eye level of kids — is the least-likely place to find promotions.

Stop & Shop itself contributed to the total with coupons and recipes inside boxes of private-label Fruit Rings.